(This is my favarite scene from episode 1. The editor of this project created this
on my request. Thank you, chokubi! I couldn't release the subs without your help!)

This is one of the most beautiful drama I ever seen.
I fell in love with it, so I decided to sub it.
SynopsisSuzuhara Nao (Matsuyuki Yasuko) is a substitute teacher
at an elementary school.
She meets 7-years-old girl, Michiki Rena (Ashida Mana), who is
abused by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend.
Seeing Rena’s misery, Nao impulsively takes Rena into her own
custody in the attempt to save her.

Regardless the dark story, directors manage to create sophisticated
drama with artistic cinemagraphy.
Matusyuki Yasuko is doing a great job as usual,
and Ashida Mana, who plays 7-years-old elementary school girl,
is doing an amazing job. I can't believe she is only five in real life.

Timing, Translating, Typesetting by Chuks
Editing by chobuki
Quality check by hubby_b, Chuks
Ep01 Special thanks to Drazic
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This subs are not for sale or streaming.Do not edit or repost the subs.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note for ep01A baby hatch is called a baby mailbox in Japan and there’s only one as of now.
Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto set it up in 2007.
Mothers can leave babies in the hatch attached to the hospital anonymously.
The babies are put up for adoption.
It caused a big controversy when it was set up, some argue it encourages child abandonment,
some of the abandoned kids were handicapped, and it is against some laws regarding child raising.
But there are also positive aspects such as it can prevent child abuse and can reduce the abortion rate.
Note for ep02Marimokkori. (During Rena is playing word game, she says the name of character popular in Hokkaido.)
Check this out.
Note for ep03Growth Record (Boshi Kenko Techo) is a small notebook to keep a record of pregnancy/child-related facts.
Such as, the mother's health, the progress of pregnancy and childbirth conditions, and also of the newborn's condition.
Even until the child reaches school age, it will include the child's health, growth development and vaccination history.
The boshi kenko techo is provided by a local municipal office to expecting mothers who submit a pregnancy report.
Note for Ep11[spoiler]The drama never explained why Nao had to wait until Tsugumi turned 20 to reunite with her,
but my assumption is that because 20 years old is legal age in Japan, Tsugumi can act on her own
without her mother, Hitomi's consent.
While I believe there's no law preventing them from seeing each other after Nao's probation's up,
usually children at foster care are not allowed to see adults besides their relatives.
[/spoiler]
About the on-screen notes.Notes are for additional information, so they are timed to be short for people who
are interested in reading them.
You have to pause the video to read them.
I don't like leaving notes on the screen for long time since it's distracting,
and usually my notes are long.
The note shouldn't affect the understanding of the subs.
When viewers need to read them to understand the subs, I usually time it longer.

My next project will be Pure. If you're interested, go to my web page for more information.

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
i was interested when i first head about this but there were no subbers so i gave up on it, but my mom said it was really good so i just had to watch it x) THANKS ALOT! will u be doing the rest of the series as well?

Hi Chuks, thanks for subbing this dorama. When I read the synopsis I found it interesting. I'm glad I can check it out thanks to your subs. Is it similar to "Aishiteru"? I loved your subs for "Fumo Chitai" and I'm happy to follow another work of yours. Will you drop "Shinzanmono"? (sorry for my english).

AnonKuro wrote:OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!! i was interested when i first head about this but there were no subbers so i gave up on it, but my mom said it was really good so i just had to watch it x) THANKS ALOT! will u be doing the rest of the series as well?

calimerina wrote:Hi Chuks, thanks for subbing this dorama. When I read the synopsis I found it interesting. I'm glad I can check it out thanks to your subs. Is it similar to "Aishiteru"? I loved your subs for "Fumo Chitai" and I'm happy to follow another work of yours. Will you drop "Shinzanmono"? (sorry for my english).

It's totally different from Aishiteru.
In Aishiteru, 10-year-old boy kills 7-year-old, and the victim's family and
the murder's family try to figure out why the boy comitted the murder
and how to live with it.
It's also an excellent drama. I cried on every episode.

AnonKuro wrote:OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH!! i was interested when i first head about this but there were no subbers so i gave up on it, but my mom said it was really good so i just had to watch it x) THANKS ALOT! will u be doing the rest of the series as well?

[spoiler]that scene where the boyfriend was putting lipstick on her, can someone explain please? was it just some weird lolita fetish or was there some reason behind it? and why did the mom get mad at the girl? [/spoiler]

AnonKuro wrote:that scene where the boyfriend was putting lipstick on her, can someone explain please? was it just some weird lolita fetish or was there some reason behind it?

He probably did that out of boredom, since he's in that house most of the time. The fetish part is debatable but what's for sure is that Rena definitely wasn't enjoying it. It's the same as when he tied her up in the garbage bag and letting her mom think they're playing hide and seek.

and why did the mom get mad at the girl?

Rena got hit because her mom didn't like the attention she was getting from her boyfriend. You can tell it from the way she saw them herself when she entered the hall.
If you didn't notice the cinematography or hints from other parts of the show, then it will seem like she simply didn't like Rena playing with makeup.

Edit:For those of you who read my earlier version, Rena actually knew what was going on when he tied her up in the garbage bag. And apart from being bored, there's a possibility of other things going on besides the boredom and the psychological abuse.I also corrected some of the sentences I wrote to show better clarity. Apologies for the confusion.[/spoiler]
Edited for partial clarity.

Last edited by chokubi on Thu Apr 22, 2010 5:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.

AnonKuro wrote:that scene where the boyfriend was putting lipstick on her, can someone explain please? was it just some weird lolita fetish or was there some reason behind it?

He probably did that out of boredom, since he's in that house most of the time. But it isn't fetish for sure, because he's ridiculing her in the process. It's the same as when he tied her up in the garbage bag and letting her think they're playing hide and seek.

and why did the mom get mad at the girl?

Rena got hit because her mom thought she was flirting with her boyfriend. You can tell it from the way the mother saw that scene herself when she entered the hall.
If you didn't notice the cinematography, then the mother simply didn't like Rena putting on makeup. [/spoiler]
[spoiler]
ahh i see thanks alot but what a crazy mom, what 7 year old girl would flirt with a guy who's not only way older than her but also abuses her [/spoiler]

I just finish watching. Production value is pretty huge vs a lot of other jdramas I watched. I wonder what camera they used. I almost think they are using a Canon 5D Mk2 or something LOL, tons of beautiful narrow depth of field.

AnonKuro wrote:ahh i see thanks alot but what a crazy mom, what 7 year old girl would flirt with a guy who's not only way older than her but also abuses her

I should add that on top of saying that the boyfriend did those out of boredom, it's also one of his abuses.I guess, one of the things I like about this show is how the way some of the scenes are shot. They're done in a way that you can't quite pin down on the thoughts behind those actions. So it leaves room for some imagination. This show has "sophisticated taste" as Chuks quoted it herself.[/spoiler]

catalepsicfox wrote:I just finish watching. Production value is pretty huge vs a lot of other jdramas I watched. I wonder what camera they used. I almost think they are using a Canon 5D Mk2 or something LOL, tons of beautiful narrow depth of field.

Yeah, they played around with depth of field almost throughout the entire show. At times, I felt like I was watching a very long CM, lol. I think the best ones has to be the scenes at the railway station.

Thanks so much for taking up this drama -- and WOW, what a great job on the subtitle (from translation to typesetting!) I'm totally hooked on it now after just 1 episode.
In a way, it reminds me of the older drama Aoi Tori (though in that old one, it was 3 on the run across Japan instead of 2 like here). But fantastic acting, wonderful photography, and excellent story so far.

Thanks for picking this one up and starting it off with such a great job!

Thank you so much for the subs. I wasn't planning on watching this series since I'm not into family dramas, but the first ep of this was great.

[spoiler]Whoa, the boyfriend was such a weirdo! Total pedo right there. I'm getting flashes of Precious (the movie). What a pitiful girl, plus she's so adorable. I'd kidnap her too! No kid deserves that crap.[/spoiler]

Chuks wrote:By the way toyotaku, I like Toyohara Kosuke, too.He is funny, yet he can be sexy. Good combination.

lol... he does nasty very well, too. There are so many actors like him out there that don't get attention. I always like hearing someone else notices him.

I have to thank you again for subbing this. I watched the first ep this afternoon and everything about it blew me away. Some of the cinematography... it's more like theatrical filming than television. The writing was well paced. And the little girl is amazing. Your subs brought it all together for me. Can never thank you enough for that.

[spoiler]that scene where the boyfriend was putting lipstick on her, can someone explain please? was it just some weird lolita fetish or was there some reason behind it? and why did the mom get mad at the girl?

thanks

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I think they were trying to imply possible sexual abuse/molestation on top of the emotional and physical abuse. The reason the mom got mad at her daughter rather than at the boyfriend is because she was likely displacing her anger with her boyfriend onto Rena. Even though she knew what was going on (that her boyfriend was abusing her daughter), she felt powerless to stop it, and so she took her anger and fear out on the less powerful of the two: her daughter. It's not entirely uncommon in cases of abuse.[/spoiler]

That said, this looks like it'll be a great series. I was a little concerned towards the end of the episode -- that just seems like bad boundaries on the part of Nao, but I can understand her motives.

But man, what is with Japan and suddenly coming out with all these social commentary dramas? First 14sai no Haha and now this? I love it. Looking forward to episode 2.

toyotaku wrote:I have to thank you again for subbing this. I watched the first ep this afternoon and everything about it blew me away. Some of the cinematography... it's more like theatrical filming than television. The writing was well paced. And the little girl is an amazing. Your subs brought it all together for me. Can never thank you enough for that.

I agree with you. It's a beautiful drama and the girl did amazing job.
Kudos to the Nippon TV for giving a go to this drama. This is an NHK-quality-drama,
and not for private TV stations, since there's no rate-grabbing actors and the story is not
for everybody.

I thought putting this note on my first post, but I wasn't sure this should get a lot of attention,
so to whoever nice enough to take time to post feedback...
(This is not exactly spoiler, but I do talk about a scene on the second episode)
[spoiler]When Rena is playing Shiritori, she says the name of character, Marimokkori.
Check this out.
Even though I'm Japanese, what's wrong with this country...lol
My fav is the one with pants down.:p[/spoiler]

hey9 wrote:Something refreshing I like about this drama is that there's not a heavy reliance on music to create mood, it's mainly just the awesome acting of the cast.

That's exactly what I thought when I saw a certain scene in episode3.
I think they take good liberty to keep music at a minimal at scenes where the key characters are interacting with each other.
[/spoiler]